A violent tremor was felt. Magical energy was expelled from severed nerves. The soul was lting, dissolving, liquefying. Though consciousness remained clear, coherent thought was impossible. Frail instincts wailed sorrowfully, yet to "him," they were nothing more than faint animal cries.
Unable to comprehend, unable to think. Utterly incapable of constructing logic. Unable to assert selfhood, not even certain whether he was alive. Only the innate knowledge granted words to the nebulous sensations that had eluded grasp until now.
—I am alive.
A simple fact. One even a sobbing infant could instinctively understand—yet until this very mont, he had never known what it ant to live.
Created upon a foundation of Magic Circuits, this being possessed astonishing comprehension of knowledge yet lacked any tangible sense of being alive.
No matter how grotesque its creation, its five senses still functioned faithfully. The organ called "ears" captured sound waves from the outside world.
"Is it still alive?" A bright voice asked.
"Yes, but... living properly will be extrely difficult. At most, its lifespan may extend three years." A deeper voice responded.
What followed was silence—a sound all too familiar.
During the long days confined within the magical energy supply tank, all it had heard were these hollow echoes, these aningless stretches of quiet.
So it shattered the glass tank, forcing itself out—just to escape the suffocating weight of that oppressive stagnation.
Before long, those two voices tore through the encroaching darkness once more.
"...I’ve dirtied your bed. I’m truly sorry."
"It’s fine... But let ask—why did you want to save him?"
Why save ?
So... I was saved by him?
Suddenly, sothing surged within its chest. The fragile homunculus once again defied its instincts, forcing its eyelids open and turning its head.
In its blurred vision stood a beautiful young man with a pink ponytail, clad in light armor, and beside him, a golden-haired, muscular man who wore a slightly troubled expression.
"Ah, you’re awake."
Astolfo noticed the movent on the bed, enthusiastically waving at the homunculus while answering Chiron’s question.
"Because I wanted to save this child."
There was no grand conviction in the boy’s words. He had simply acted on the desire to save. Simple and natural. Precisely because of that, it was an act few besides Rider could have perford.
However, Astolfo’s next words made Chiron’s expression shift.
"Besides, I wasn’t the one who truly saved this child, was I?"
"...What do you an?"
"Ah, right—since I was the one who brought him to your room. Actually, I didn’t find him. It was Reika Rikudou who entrusted him to ."
"Reika Rikudou? Then... the Osarei clan?"
The homunculus heard the golden-haired man inhale sharply, clearly startled. After a mont of silence, he murmured to himself:
"It seems I’ll need to get so answers."
"Hmm, what did you say?" Astolfo didn’t catch Chiron’s whisper, and evidently this great sage had no intention of letting the paladin know his thoughts, shifting the conversation to the topic of homunculi instead.
"Isn’t Caster chasing after him?"
"Ahaha, who cares about that."
Astolfo laughed as he raised both hands toward the sky. Though Archer sighed, he too believed this judgnt was undoubtedly correct.
Indeed, achieving victory on the battlefield was important, but the current situation hadn’t deteriorated to the point where they’d forget their duties as Heroic Spirits. Saving them, letting them go—such things should be permitted and even encouraged.
"...I’ll be leaving this room for a while. No one should co, but even if soone knocks, don’t respond."
"Thanks. Then, let stay here for a bit."
Just before leaving the room, Archer suddenly turned back and addressed the homunculus:
"Tell your wish."
"Chiron..."
"Call Archer, Rider of Black." Shedding his gentle smile, Chiron now resembled a strict ntor, scrutinizing the newborn before him with a critical gaze. "My room isn’t safe. As long as you remain in the Fortress of Millennia, Caster will find you eventually—tell , what is your wish?"
"Ah, of course—"
"Please be silent, Rider. I’m asking him. I need to see his soul and will."
Whether willing or not, the mont Reika handed the homunculus over to Astolfo, this homunculus had been plunged into the treacherous whirlpool of conflict.
For a great sage, aiding those in distress was the most natural act. Yet this ti, Chiron was drawing his bow as Archer of the Black faction—he had to answer to the Yggdmillennia and his Master, Fiore.
Perhaps this homunculus was still naive, immature, and lost. But they could still think, choose, and decide their own fate—that was the fundantal difference between a person and a tool.
We can lend you a hand, but first, you mustn’t give up on yourself.
If your answer disappoints, I’m sorry—as the strategist of the Black faction, I must eliminate you as a risk while you’re still in the cradle.
Under Chiron’s gaze, the homunculus began to ponder. A wish, a wish, a wish—did they even have the right to put their wish into words? They possessed no power, no possessions, no accumulated history. They were rely a device for supplying magical energy... and they had abandoned even that duty.
Yet, even so, they harbored one desire unbefitting their station. A wish hidden within their body—a dream. They had never imagined it could be realized. But surely, just speaking it aloud would be fine, they reasoned.
They opened their mouth. Using vocal cords that had scarcely been exercised before—though the effort brought pain—they managed to voice their ’wish’ in a fragile whisper.
"Please... save ."
Hearing this wish, Archer’s expression softened. He gave the homunculus a slight nod before closing the door and leaving. anwhile, Rider spread his arms wide, embracing the homunculus tightly as he replied in a cheerful tone:
"Understood. I’ll save you."
For this homunculus, encountering Black Rider, Astolfo, was an incredibly fortunate event.
***
On the suspension bridge built underground, Sakatsuki observed the resplendent Greater Grail through little Jack’s eyes.
Perhaps due to its roots in Romania, the form of the Greater Grail had changed—it was no longer a simple golden chalice. Instead, three statues carved in the likeness of the Winter Saint stood like trees rooted in the golden shell, resembling works of art.
Yet Sakatsuki could still sense the familiar resonance and call. It was clear that even after sixty years, Darnic had failed to break through the Holy Grail system jointly created by Matou, Tohsaka, and Einzbern, nor had he managed to alter its underlying permissions.
Otherwise, this Holy Grail War would not have happened.
"Sakatsuki Mama, are you done yet? Jack wants to sleep with Reika Mommy."
Even the most novel scenery grows tireso for a child. In the depths of his consciousness, little Jack voiced a faint protest.
"Shh, Jack is a good girl. Just wait until Sakatsuki Mo—cough—until Mr. Sakatsuki finishes his work, and you can co back, okay?"
You were absolutely about to say "Sakatsuki Mommy," weren’t you, Reika!
Far away on the other end, Sakatsuki’s face darkened as he blocked out Reika and Jack’s interaction, continuing to interfere with the Greater Grail’s system using magecraft.
Though he had manifested as an Assassin, magecraft—unlike martial skills—didn’t require relentless training to form muscle mory. If you knew it, you knew it; as long as his consciousness and mories remained intact, he could still wield it.
The sa went for True Magic.
Having fought with the Heaven’s Feel in the Fourth War, Sakatsuki had long since mastered the Greater Grail’s system. As long as the key of the Third Magic remained, no matter how much the Yggdmillennia tried to disguise or conceal it, Sakatsuki could effortlessly pick the lock and sneak a hand into their "treasure."
Yggdmillennia, your Greater Grail tastes pretty good, huh~?
Through his attempts using the Third Magic, Sakatsuki arrived at three conclusions.
First: Under the special circumstances of the Great Holy Grail War, the conditions for fully activating the Greater Grail remained unchanged—seven heroic spirits must be offered, and even more if their classes differed.
Second: The Greater Grail couldn’t be taken away stealthily. Though the Yggdmillennia couldn’t open the lock, that didn’t stop them from setting an alarm on the door—the mont Sakatsuki tampered with the Greater Grail, they would inevitably sense it.
This ant Sakatsuki’s plan to secretly abscond with the Greater Grail had failed.
As for the third conclusion, while he couldn’t take the Grail, Sakatsuki could secretly create an administrator (GM) account, delving deep into the Greater Grail’s underlying system.
Though he couldn’t perform outrageous actions like forcibly repatriating Servants or adding Command Spells for himself, under the right conditions, Sakatsuki could designate new Masters, compelling the Grail to acknowledge and grant them Command Spells!
For the undermanned Blue faction, this was undoubtedly a useful contingency asure.
"Though I’d prefer not to involve outsiders, if it cos down to it, I’ll use this authority..."
Muttering to himself, Sakatsuki was about to guide little Jack back when a disturbance suddenly arose on Reika’s end.
"What’s wrong, Reika?"
"Soone’s knocking at the door... Miss Artoria says it’s the Black Archer, Chiron!"
Chiron?
Why would the Black Faction’s Great Sage co over in the middle of the night?
Had our movents with Jack been discovered?
Though startled, Sakatsuki remained composed and quickly issued instructions: "Cut the connection and go open the door, Reika. Follow the plan we rehearsed on the plane. We absolutely cannot let Chiron suspect anything!"
That was the Black Faction’s master strategist. If they gave themselves away in front of him from the start, Reika’s future situation would beco extrely difficult!
"But... in that case, Mr. Sakatsuki won’t have enough magical energy!"
As the interdiary sharing vision between Sakatsuki and Jack, Reika bore a significant portion of the magical energy flow. If she withdrew, the energy Sakatsuki would expend to maintain the connection with Jack would increase a hundredfold!
"No ti! Hurry! At worst, I’ll use a Command Spell to replenish my energy!"
At his command, Reika’s consciousness imdiately withdrew. Sakatsuki, sitting on a streetlight sowhere, grunted as his magical energy poured out like floodwaters through an open sluice gate.
Damn this Assassin’s constitution...
Cursing inwardly, Sakatsuki showed no outward change, though his speech quickened noticeably.
"Mama Reika is in danger, so Jack, you’ll need to follow my lead carefully."
"Okay, Sakatsuki Mommy! Jack will be good!"
Sensing the tension, the little girl responded earnestly before transforming back into a wraith and darting upward.
As the golden, sacred glow gradually faded, Sakatsuki didn’t look back, silently making a vow in his heart.
When we et again, you will belong to .
The Greater Grail.
***
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